England go into their final group game against Pakistan on Tuesday safe in the knowledge that a place in the semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup has already been secured.

Pakistan's narrow three-run loss to West Indies on Sunday ensured that England will finish in the top two in Group 2, but they need to avoid defeat at Newlands to make absolutely certain of top spot and avoid the prospect of facing reigning champions Australia in the semi-finals.

The Aussies have won four out of four to top Group 1, while England are the only other team with a perfect record, having seen off West Indies, Ireland and India.

What	England Women v Pakistan Women
Where	Newlands, Cape Town
When	13:00, Tuesday 21st February 2023
How to watch	bet365 Sports Live Streaming, Sky Sports Cricket & Main Event
Odds	England Women 1/16, Pakistan Women 9/1

England hitting the fast lane

England began their tournament be seeing off the West Indies by seven wickets, racing to victory with 5.3 overs to spare, ensuring that their run-rate would always be a valuable positive.

A four-wicket win over Ireland also came with more than five overs to spare, but India proved much more stubborn opposition as a tense contest was decided by an 11-run margin.

England have clearly opted for a super-positive approach with the bat and that has paid off handsomely so far and, having not been pushed to their limits in their opening two games, they looked strong against India.

Nat Sciver-Brunt led the way with an even 50, while skipper Heather Knight (28) and Amy Jones (40) also made valuable contributions. However, on a cautionary note, early wickets saw England reduced to 29-3 and they will need to avoid such top-order struggles when the knockout phase arrives.

Alice Capsey made just three against India, but showed her true class in the win over Ireland, smacking 51 from a mere 22 balls.

She is 4/1 to be Team - Top Batter on Tuesday, with Nat Sciver-Brunt available at 4/1.

With the ball, England are blessed in having the outstanding left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone at their disposal. She has taken seven wickets in three matches and has done so at an exceptional economy rate of 4.16 - the joint second-best in the tournament to date

Ecclestone has formed a dynamic spin partnership with leggie Sarah Glenn, whose six wickets in the competition have cost 5.50 runs an over and between them they have been able to put a squeeze on all three of England's opponents 

Meanwhile, Glenn took 3-15 in her only previous outing against Pakistan in a T20I, while Ecclestone has 11 wickets at an incredible average of 8.81 from her six 20-over clashes with Pakistan.

Ecclestone is 12/5 to be Team - Top Bowler, while Glenn offers a little more value at 15/4.

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Pakistan not to be underestimated

Having won just one of their three games to date, Pakistan are almost certain to miss out on the semi-finals and they will be hurting after a nail-biting loss to the West Indies saw their knockout hopes fade away.

Earlier they had pushed neighbours India almost all the way to the final over, before demolishing Ireland by 70 runs, with Muneeba Ali scoring the only century of the tournament so far.

The 25-year-old left-hander made just 5 and 12 in her other two World Cup innings, but against the Irish she fired in style, making 102 from just 68 balls faced, finding the boundary 14 times.

Bismah Maroof is the only other Pakistan batter to register a half-century and she is 12/5 to be Team - Top Batter on Tuesday, with Muneeba Ali a 5/2 shot.

Spin is also the main weapon for Pakistan with the ball, with left-armer Nashra Sandhu having matched Ecclestone’s seven wickets in the tournament, with six of those having come in two previous outings at Newlands.

She is 9/2 to be Team - Top Bowler on Tuesday, while Nida Dar is 9/2, having become the joint-leading wicket-taker in Women's T20 international cricket by snaring two victims against West Indies.

Head-to-head record points to England

These sides have met 14 times previously in T20Is and almost all of those contests have ended in favour of England.

They have registered 13 victories and just a single loss, with that having come way back in July 2013, when a thriller in Loughborough was decided by a one-run margin in favour of Pakistan.